


Prom of Our Lives!

by Never_Eat_Sour_Wheat



Series: Slice of Life Smile For Me [10]
Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Crushes, Father-Daughter Relationship, Love Confessions, Misunderstandings, Mother-Son Relationship, Multi, Platonic Relationships, Prom, School Dances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 17:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20492885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Never_Eat_Sour_Wheat/pseuds/Never_Eat_Sour_Wheat
Summary: Nat and Trevor are excited for their first ever prom, but things get in the way of romance pretty early on. Still, they can have fun, just the two of them!





	Prom of Our Lives!

**Author's Note:**

> A month of on and off writing has finally paid off! I worked really really hard on this one and I am so beyond pleased with it! A note a do have is that I interpreted Gillis as much younger than most people in the fandom have, so he's still in high school actually. He just seems so young based on his interactions, in my opinion. Anyways! Like I said I worked really hard on this one, and I hope you all enjoy it!

“And don’t forget! Prom is coming up soon, don’t forget to ask your sweetheart out fellas!” Nat and Trevor locked eyes as the intercom was still on, giving more details about the prom. Trevor grinned at her, and she couldn’t help but smile back. She glanced around the classroom and just barely caught Ranya’s eye. The other girl blushed and looked away, and Nat blushed as well.

She had realized that she had a crush on the girl around the same time that Trevor had told her about his own crush. Not the one he used to have on her, she had known about that for a really long time, and it had faded pretty fast when they had actually become friends. No, he had his eye on someone else now. A guy named Raph, who was an emo kid through and through. In middle school he had even claimed to be a vampire, but he blushed and stuttered anytime someone brought it up now. Nat hoped that Trevor would get to that stage about him being a “werewolf” at some point, solely so she could make fun of him by bringing it up. Lovingly of course. Homeroom went by in a blur after that, and before she knew it, she was waiting outside the room for Trevor to collect his stuff. She waved shyly at Ranya as she left the room but the girl didn’t seem to notice her. 

“Nat! Oh my goshness, this is our chance!” Trevor yelled as he bumped her shoulder with his. She hoisted her backpack more squarely on her shoulders and bumped him back. “Everyone knows that prom is where the best romances happen!”

“Is that why you wanted to ask me?” She teased. Trevor blushed and shoved her lightly. 

“C’mon Nat, don’t be mean,” He muttered. She reached up to pat his shoulder.

“Sorry. You’re right though. About this being our chance. We’ve gotta make the most of it,” She said. He nodded and carefully took her hand for a moment to squeeze it and let go. She wished he would hold on longer, but there were too many people in the hallway, and neither of them wanted people to get the wrong idea. They soon reached a fork in the hallway, and she waved a little as Trevor headed away from her.

“Don’t worry Nat! We’ll get it!” He yelled at her as he went. She smiled and rolled her eyes. Still there was an odd pit in her stomach.

For the next few weeks, they would try various different ways to talk to their respective crushes. Nat managed a pretty good conversation with Ranya about various Saturday cartoons, but she chickened out of asking. Trevor was still having trouble getting Raph to notice him, which was partially because he was oblivious to most things and partially because Trevor was too anxious to get his attention directly. Nat suggested writing notes, and they both made several drafts, but ended up ripping them up every time. After two weeks things were beginning to look grim.

“I’m gonna ask Lulia and Jerafina about it tonight,” Trevor said one day during lunch. Nat perked up at that.

“Oh my goshness, yeah! Why didn’t I think of that?” She said, suddenly very excited. “Tell them I’m having the same problem, I’m gonna need their advice.”

“Why not ask your dad?” Trevor said, which earned a small glare from Nat. “Oh, right. No prom when he was a kid. Maybe some kind of ball though? Just cuz he doesn’t have experience with prom doesn’t mean he doesn’t know about dances. Or asking people out in general, you know? I mean, you came from somewhere.” Trevor pulled a face as he said it, and Nat gagged a little. 

“Dude!”

“Yeah, I wish I hadn’t said it either.” Trevor shuddered, and Nat laughed at that. They sat in silence for another few minutes before Trevor sighed. “I just hope Jerafina doesn’t make it weird.”

“She might, but she’s also had some pretty good advice before, right? She helped you out with the nightmares, yeah?” Nat offered. Trevor nodded and poked some at the school lunch he had. Nat started sweating a little when she realized he had a sort of glazed over look in his eye. She reached out and took his hand to squeeze it. He jumped slightly but smiled at her as she let go. “Sorry for bringing them up.” He just nodded. 

They finished up lunch in silence.

* * *

Trevor had found it both easy and difficult to adjust to the new home life he had. Lulia and Jerafina had been the only real couple that came out of the Habitat, and had decided that they were going to take it very seriously. Plenty of adoptions had come from the Habitat, but the two of them had leapt at the chance for two kids, and they were the only non single parents that had come from it too. Which might have been two things that had a lot to do with each. Trevor was one of those kids, and although the family didn’t seem like a great fit, it all worked out well. 

“Hey little man,” Gillis greeted him as they climbed off the bus. Nat had already run off in the direction of her house, waving goodbye over her shoulder. 

“Hey dude,” Trevor replied. Living in the same house had helped him realize that Gillis was, in fact, not an ogre. Just a huge strong guy with a tough exterior and a poorly hidden soft inside. Kinda like those dipped ice cream cones that melted way too fast. The guy took the stuffed bear he had won at the Habitat with him everywhere, and since Trevor had taken his own stuffed wolf with him everywhere until only last year, he was in no position to judge. 

A small light went off in Trevor’s head and he turned to walk sideways so he could see Gillis head on. “You’ve been to prom before right?” He asked. Gillis tripped over his own feet and his eyes went wide for a second. 

“Uh, yeah! Of course I have!” He said, sounding dismissive. 

“Great! How do you ask someone to go to prom with you?” Trevor asked. Gillis started darting his eyes around and Trevor began to get a pit in his stomach. Gillis was a horrible liar after all. Still, Trevor had trouble with eye contact even when he was telling the truth, so it didn’t really mean anything.

“Well, I always just show off how strong I am and ask them outright! They’re always impressed by my muscles and say yes!” He said. Trevor nodded absently, making a little mental note. “I don’t know how well that’ll work for you squirt.” 

“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about. It’ll work for Nat even less,” He said thoughtfully. Nat was strong, but it was that freaky vampire strength, not normal muscle strength. 

“You’re not asking her?” Gillis said, sounding surprised. Trevor sighed deeply.

“Why does everyone think we’re dating?” He groaned. Gillis didn’t get a chance to respond before they arrived at their house. There was a car sitting in the driveway, a nice deep blue one. Lulia’s car. She was usually home when they got home after all. Working various different gigs offered odd hours, and late afternoons never seemed to be the time people wanted to record things. Trevor pushed open the screen door. “Lulia! We’re home!” He called into the house.

“Welcome home boys! I’m in the kitchen!” She called back. Gillis and Trevor shared a glance. Lulia was excellent at baking, and often did it to relax. The best part about it though was that everything she made was delicious. But she only ever made so much.

“Dibs!” They yelled at the same time and started shoving each other out of the way to try and get to the kitchen first. Lulia began to laugh as Gillis picked Trevor up and plopped him down on the couch upside down. “No fair!” He yelled, righting himself and rushing into the kitchen. Gillis had already shoved one of the chocolate chip cookies in his mouth.

“I would save you some if he tried to eat them all Trevor, don’t worry,” Lulia assured him as he grabbed one. He nodded, his mouth too full to say anything. She beamed at them, clearly happy that they were enjoying something she made.

“Is everything okay though? Sometimes you bake for fun, but sometimes it’s for a bad reason,” Gillis piped up between bites. Trevor nodded in agreement. She sighed and leaned against the counter.

“Just a frustrating day working with an underpaid intern. It wasn’t the poor dear’s fault, they had clearly been under trained, but it was frustrating nonetheless,” She said. There was a short moment of silence before she smiled. “I feel much better now though! And Jerafina said she’d be home a little early today, so why don’t we do something fun together?”

“Yeah!” They said in unison. The three of them migrated to the living room where Trevor went looking through their various board games. Board game nights had become a bonding activity for the four of them. It was weird trying to find common ground, but some friendly competition was something they all seemed pretty on board with. “I thought it was my turn to pick,” Gillis piped up. Trevor hummed and looked the games up and down once more.

“I think so. I was just looking.” He was pretty sure it was his turn, but he didn’t feel like arguing. He had other things on the mind. He couldn’t possibly ask during board games, they all got too involved in it. Maybe during dinner? Or should he wait until after Gillis had gone off to his room for the night? Would it be rude to ask with him around since he had already asked him directly? Aw crap, he was working himself into a downward spiral. Still, he couldn’t help it. There were so many variables and…

“Trevor? Are you alright?” Lulia asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He jumped but didn’t shrug her off. “Is something the matter?”

“I uh...I wanted to ask you and Jerafina something. But, uh, it can wait for dinner. Or after. Or the end of the weekend or-”

“You can ask at dinner dear, I’m sure we’ll have a way to help,” She said, moving the hand to run it through his hair a couple times. He leaned into it, feeling a wave of comfort overcome him. Lulia was a good guardian, he really did love living with her. His whole little family was wonderful really. 

“Aggravation!” Gillis suddenly said, pulling out a box. Trevor groaned and fell into a chair dramatically. He hated Aggravation with a burning passion. He was horrible at it, and Gillis and Jerafina were amazing. Lulia sat in the direct middle, she had won a few times, but nothing compared to the other two. He had won once, and had later found out that Gillis and Jerafina had been going easy on him for the whole game. Lulia chuckled at his dramatics and followed Gillis into the dining room to set up the board. “C’mon squirt! I’ll let you have first pick of the colors!” Gillis called into the living room. Trevor groaned even more dramatically, but managed to pick himself up out of the chair.

Just as he had shuffled his way into the dining room the front door opened and Jerafina walked in. She glanced around, saw the three of them setting up the board and grinned like a woman possessed.

“I’m gonna kick your asses.”

“Language!” Lulia yelped. Trevor and Gillis just giggled.

“Bring it sister!” Gillis yelled.

* * *

Lulia managed to win, and Trevor actually didn’t do as bad that round as he thought he might. Lulia declared that because she won the game she didn’t have to make dinner, but she ended up helping anyways. Jerafina wasn’t the best in the kitchen, although she wasn’t the worst either. Nothing could compare to Jimothan Botch. Gillis and Trevor put the game away and set the table, arguing about the game the whole time. Not in an angry way, not really. But in that way where you fight with your sibling just because you can and you have nothing to talk about. They all sat down to dinner, and it was mostly quiet for a while, just Jerafina jumping in with little stories about work. Trevor couldn’t think of a good way to bring up his subject, but luckily, he didn’t have to.

“Trevor, you had something you wanted to ask Jerafina and I, right?” Lulia asked. He sat upright in his chair suddenly, before nodding sheepishly.

“Well, uh, prom is coming up, and I was wondering if...I mean...how do you ask someone to prom?” He asked, hemming and hawing over his words. Lulia and Jerafina shared a glance before they both grinned.

“I remember prom...being a weird teenager with weird feelings,” Jerafina said, leaning against her hand. “Here’s what you’ve gotta do kid. Grand gestures! Sweep them off their feet! Spell something out with rose petals, I dunno!”

“Small things can go a long way too you know,” Lulia said. Jerafina stuck her tongue out at her, but Lulia ignored it. “I was asked by the cutest little note slipped into my backpack. It was very romantic…” She trailed off, looking wistful. 

“Highschool sweetheart better than me, huh?” Jerafina asked, clearly joking.

“Oh, of course. He was the best, definitely not the reason I realized I was a lesbian.” Lulia replied, giggling slightly. Jerafina laughed loudly, and Trevor couldn’t help chuckling too. He did notice though, that Gillis wasn’t saying anything, or even laughing along. “Really though Trevor, you’ve just gotta get up there and ask this person out in whatever way you’re most comfortable. Put yourself out there, but don’t make yourself uncomfortable,” Lulia said, leaning across the table to take his hand.

Gillis stood up suddenly, and the whole table went quiet.

“Thanks for dinner. I’m, uh...I’m gonna go up to my room.” And just like that he bolted. The three remaining at the table just glanced at each other.

“Someone should go talk to him…” Lulia said. 

“Don’t look at me, I don’t even know why he’s upset,” Jerafina said.

“I don’t either! We can always ask you know,” Lulia replied, looking peeved. 

“I’m no good at this emotional stuff…” Jerafina said, looking down at the table. Lulia sighed, but put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Maybe that’s why you should try. To get better at it,” She said. Trevor glanced between the two of them.

“I’ll do it. It’s my fault he got upset anyways, I asked the question,” He said, standing up.

“Oh, no, Trevor, you really don’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, it’s alright sweetie, we’ll handle it.” Trevor smiled at his guardians but shook his head.

“I wanna help, I’ll do it.” He went up the stairs before they could argue anymore. The door to Gillis’ room was shut, but there were lights on inside. Trevor stopped in front of it and listened. With his Awesome Werewolf Hearing he could hear...crying coming from in the room. He knocked on the door twice. There was a gasp and some rustling. “Hey man, it’s just me. I’m gonna come in, okay?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever!” Gillis called through the door. Trevor opened it carefully and stepped inside. Gillis was clutching Maynard tightly, and there were tear tracks on his cheeks. “W-what do you want squirt?”

“I’m sorry if me asking about prom stuff made you uncomfortable…” Trevor said sheepishly. “I mean, I know I already asked you about how to ask someone out, but I didn’t think your answer would work for me, so I figured I should ask Jerafina and Lulia and...yeah…” He trailed off, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

“That’s...that’s not why I’m upset,” Gillis said, sitting carefully on his bed. Trevor closed the door behind him and came over to sit next to him. Gillis scooted so he was sitting against the wall on the other side of the bed and Trevor lay down next to him. “Promise you won’t tell anyone?”

“Pinkie promise,” Trevor said, holding up his pinkie finger. Gillis hooked his pinkie with Trevor’s and took a deep breath.

“I’m really confused about who I like and...all the stuff that goes with it. I can’t get a date to the prom cuz I’m not even sure who I want to ask. And it’s really making me mad cuz like...I want to go to prom, but I can’t get a date, and I’m mad at myself for not knowing what to do and...it’s just a vicious cycle,” Gillis said, clutching Maynard even tighter. He looked on the brink of tears again, and Trevor sat up to lean against him in a way he hoped was comforting. “What should I do?” He whispered.

Trevor sat there and thought for a few minutes. He wasn’t sure he had a good response. He could go get Lulia or Jerafina, but that seemed almost like a betrayal of trust. He had promised to not tell after all. What could he say? He didn’t even know how to ask out his crush, let alone what to do if you didn’t have one. Figuring out one’s sexuality wasn’t easy, and even if he could give solid advice, it wouldn’t make the problem go away for Gillis. He just sat there as his older brother cried and racked his mind for anything. Then, all of a sudden, it hit him.

“Why do you need a date to go to prom? It’s not like it’s required to buy a ticket or anything. I mean...most kids go with one, but you don’t have to. You can just go by yourself and have fun that way,” He said, turning to look at Gillis. They sat in silence for another few minutes. 

“Won’t people judge me?” Gillis finally asked.

“Who cares?” Trevor countered. “As long as you’re having fun, who cares what other people think about you?” A few more moments of silence before Gillis smiled slightly.

“Thanks little man, you’re the best. Good luck asking your guy out by the way. I bet he’ll say yes.” Trevor beamed at Gillis’ words.

* * *

“Trevor! Phone for you!” Trevor jumped slightly and stood quickly to rush downstairs. He loved talking on the phone, he couldn’t wait until Lulia would agree that he was old enough to get his own cell phone. For now, he just got calls from the home one. Lulia was the one holding the phone, and she was talking to whoever was on the other end. “Tell your father to call us sometime, I’d love to get to know him better,” She said, and Trevor knew it was Nat who was on the other line. Lulia and Jerafina both wanted to get to know Trecil better because their kids hung out so often. He never seemed to make the effort to reach out to them, but he didn’t turn away their advances either. Trevor bounced on his heels and Lulia chuckled. “He’s here now, just a moment.” She handed him the phone and he grinned at her. “Have fun dear.”

“Thanks Lulia!” He called after her as she left. “Hello?” He said, holding the phone up to his ear.

“Hey nerd.” Nat greeted. “What’d they say?” She asked, clearly on the edge of her seat, although she was trying to sound cool still.

“Well, it kind of got interrupted, but I think the best advice between them was to just be ourselves and to go for it.” He said. Nat groaned and he heard a soft thumping noise, like she had kicked something. “I’m sorry, but that’s really all they had. Jerafina suggested grand gestures, but Lulia said that subtle stuff was a better idea. I dunno though, it’s whatever you wanna do,” He said. Nat huffed.

“You make it sound like you have a plan,” She said grumpily.

“I uh...I kinda do? I’m revising one of the notes I wrote. I’m on draft three right now, and I really like this one,” He said, turling the curly cord of the phone around his finger. “It’s going really well actually.”

“What the hell man? What am I gonna do? I’m no good at writing down feelings,” She said. He hummed in thought.

“You could just ask her. Straight up, no messing around, just go for it. You’re pretty good at being blunt,” He replied.

“Thanks. I think. But I’m not really good at the emotional stuff.”

“Maybe you should do it more. Y’know, to get good at it,” He said, remembering Lulia’s words from the other night. Nat sighed on the other end.

“I guess I should, yeah. Just talking to dad is what helped get me where I am with him now.” She was quiet for a little while. “Oh! I did ask him about asking people to dances and stuff. He spent half an hour talking about the first dance he ever went to and the guy who he asked. It was weird and not helpful, but kinda sweet.” 

“Aww!” Trevor said, then thought it over for a minute. “You’re not gonna use that as black mail material, are you?”

“I would if he had any shame. But if you’ve been around for thousands of years, apparently you grow out of shame.”

“Or just thirty four years if you’re Jerafina.” They both laughed at that. “So...what are you gonna do?”

“I think you’re right. I should just ask her. I can always bolt afterwards and make her come give me an answer,” She said, chuckling in a nervous way. “We should do it tomorrow, right? Best to get it out of the way as fast as possible.” Trevor gulped. 

“Y-yeah. I guess I should finish the note up tonight,” He said. 

“Yeah. I might...I might write down some ideas of what to say, I dunno.” They stood in silence for a few minutes. “You ready for this?”

“Nope. I’m terrified.” He laughed. “Are you ready?”

“Nope. Let’s do it.”

* * *

“Okay...okay, I can do this…” Trevor muttered to himself. Nat gave him a thumbs up from across the classroom. He was clutching the note he had written tightly in his hand and glancing at Raph every now and then. The boy was talking to Ranya, and the two of them were laughing together. Trevor took a deep breath and stood up. He walked over to the two of them, and Ranya turned her attention to him. He froze up under her gaze, suddenly feeling terrified. Not that he wasn’t already scared. They held eye contact for a few moments before Raph turned to face him.

Oh! Hello Trevor!” He said, lighting up. “Can I help you with something?” 

“I...uh...yeah! Um...I have a uh…” Trevor was freezing up, and Nat started biting on one of her nails. “I have a note for you! Here!” He said finally, and practically shoved the note into Raph’s chest. Raph looked surprised but took it carefully. 

“Thank you! I’ll read it later.” He said, tucking it away. Trevor grinned and went back to his seat. No sooner had he sat down, then he heard Raph speak again. “So Ranya, what do you say? Prom? With me?”

“I’d love to!” She replied. 

Nat and Trevor made eye contact and she could see that he had tears in his eyes. She was disappointed of course, but she hadn’t put her heart on the line yet, she hadn’t asked. Raph had Trevor’s note, and he was going to read it. Nat stood to try and make her way over to Trevor, but their teacher walked in just as she did. Everyone went back to their seats and Nat couldn’t help chewing on the end of her pencil. She glanced at Trevor every now and then, but he just seemed to be sitting and doing his work. As soon as the bell rang, he ran out of the classroom, hiding his face in his scarf.

“Trevor! Wait up!” She yelled, but it was no use. He was pushing through the crowd. She did her best to keep up, but being much shorter made it hard, people just didn’t part for her the way they did for him. “Trevor!” She lost him around a corner, but she had a pretty good idea of where he would go. The bathrooms just outside the theater were their meeting point between classes, and the quietest place in the whole school. She hustled towards them, completely forgetting about her next class. Screw school anyways. She stopped in front of the boys room and knocked on the door. “Trevor, are you in there?” 

“Go away!” He yelled. There was a couple of surprised yells from inside, and some guys came out a moment later. They walked right past Nat and she knocked again. “I’m serious Nat, just leave me alone!” She sighed and sat in front of the door. She sat there through all of the first two periods, just waiting for the distant sobbing to stop. She didn’t care about missing class, although she knew she’d get chewed out about it when she got home. Her dad wouldn’t be happy, but this was more important.

Trevor was more important.

Right before lunch started, the door creaked open and he stepped out, his scarf still wrapped around the lower half of his face. His face was red and there were tear tracks on his cheeks, but he looked calm enough. Nat didn’t say anything and neither did he. She just held her hand out and he took it. She squeezed his hand and started leading him towards the cafeteria. He followed behind, not really bothering to look where they were going. He trusted Nat to take him somewhere safe. 

They made it to the cafeteria just as the bell rang and Nat led Trevor to their usual seats. A table away from most of the others, where very few people sat usually. They just sat in silence as people came filtering in through the double doors. Nat kept an eye out for anyone who might try to sit near them, and gave them her best stick eye possible. It worked for most of them, and the ones it didn’t, all she had to do was crack her knuckles and they’d turn tail and run. No one had forgotten what she’d done when she and Trevor had really become friends. There were two people that she couldn’t scare away though.

“Um...hi Trevor!” Raph said, coming over. Ranya was standing off to his side, smiling slightly. Nat glared at them, but Trevor just waved awkwardly. “I read your note! I’m, uh, I’m flattered really! I’d love to go to prom with you but...I um…”

“It’s okay Raph. I don’t need your sympathy,” Trevor said. Nat whipped around to face him, missing the shattered expression Raph had and the hand Ranya put on his shoulder. Trevor was smiling, but he looked on the verge of tears again. “I appreciate it, but can we just pretend this never happened?”

“But-”

“Please.” Trevor looked down at the table, and Nat turned to glare at the two of them. She expected Ranya to glare right back but instead she looked...almost pained. Raph looked on the verge of tears too, but only for a moment. He took a deep breath and pulled his face into a neutral expression.

“Yeah...yeah, okay. I’ll uh...I’ll still see you at prom though,” Raph said, before turning and running himself.

“See you around Nat,” Ranya muttered before chasing after him. The whole interaction made Nat feel weird in the stomach, like they’d messed something up, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. Trevor was sobbing on the other side of the table, and she stood up and went to his side.

“C’mon, we’re calling your moms. I don’t think you can sit through the rest of classes, and I sure don’t feel like doing it alone,” She said, pulling him up out of the seat. He nodded and leaned heavily on her as they made their way to the office.

* * *

It wasn’t hard to convince Lulia to come pick them up. They had to get the okay from Trecil, but he gave it easily enough when he heard that Nat was on the verge of tears too. The school seemed less than pleased that students were leaving without actually being sick, but Nat didn’t care. She’d rather leave to help Trevor then leave by herself when she was sick. Lulia showed up quickly and they sat in the backseat, leaning on each other. Trevor had stopped crying mostly, but he was sniffing some still. Trencil wasn’t home when they stopped by for Nat to drop off her backpack, but she hadn’t planned on being at her house for a very long time. As soon as they were back at the Fame-Tabouli house, Nat and Trevor went straight to his room. Lulia decided to leave them alone for now.

“He’s so nice, of course he’d try to say sorry!” Trevor wailed, throwing himself on his bed. Nat thought it was a little bit dramatic, but she didn’t say anything. If this would help him get it out of his system, so be it. “Gosh, he’s just so perfect, but of course he’s into Ranya. Who wouldn’t be? She’s great!” He sat up suddenly and threw a pillow across the room. Nat stayed quiet for a little while, fighting back tears of her own. Trevor seemed to realize what was going on and stood up to walk over and hug Nat. “I’m sorry,” He said, and she let out a small sob of her own.

“Teenagers suck,” She said, hugging him tightly. “Everything sucks.”

“You don’t suck,” Trevor replied. He let go of her, only to grab her hand and lead her over to his bed. They fell onto it together, Trevor with his back against the wall and Nat with her head in his lap. He began to run his fingers through her hair while they both silently cried. 

About half an hour later, they had both calmed down. School would be over soon, meaning Gillis would be home, and Jerafina soon after that. Which meant questions. Both of them were dreading it, but they also knew that Trevor’s family would back off if asked. Jerafina might push a little, but Lulia would make her stop. Trevor sighed and pushed himself off of his bed. “What are we gonna do?”

“About what? Your family asking questions? Prom? Life in general? There’s a lot of stuff we’re gonna do eventually, you’ll have to be more clear,” Nat said. 

“Woah. Deep dude,” Trevor replied. Nat laughed and scooted forward on the bed so she was sitting on the edge. “I meant like...what’re we gonna do right now? To cheer up?” Nat hummed in thought before her eyes lit up.

“I know it’s a school night, but we could have a sleepover. Watch some movies, braid each other’s hair, I can see if I can find that old friendship bracelet maker thing I had,” She said, standing up to walk over to him. 

“Are you sure? Last time you had to go home in the middle of the night, I don’t want you to have to miss school because you were up late to go home,” Trevor replied. Nat shuddered, but nodded.

“I’ve gotta get used to sleeping away from home somehow. You’ll...you’ll make sure I’m okay if I do wake up though...right?” She asked. Trevor took her hand and squeezed it, smiling slightly.

“Of course,” He said, and she smiled back. “Now, let’s go ask our parents.” They took off down the stairs like two bullets. Lulia and Gillis were sitting in the living room, and they both perked up when the two teens came down the stairs. 

“You okay little man?” Gillis asked. Trevor gave him a “so-so” hand gesture.

“While I don’t mind helping you out in an emotional moment dear, I would like to know what exactly happened,” Lulia said. Trevor sighed.

“I gave that note I wrote to Raph and...it didn’t go well.” Gillis winced and Lulia shook her head. She held her arms open and Trevor fell into them after a moment.

“I’m sorry dear,” She whispered, running her hands through his hair. He hummed, fighting back tears again and gripped her tightly. “Is there anything we can do to help?” He pulled away from her and smiled slightly.

“Nat and I were hoping we could have a sleepover. Y’know, for solidarity's sake. Her date didn’t work out either…” He said. Nat waved at Lulia awkwardly. Lulia hummed in thought.

“I don’t know...it is a school night, and you’ll have to see them tomorrow. You don’t want to do that on only a few hours of sleep,” She replied. Nat and Trevor shared a glance. 

“We’ll be in bed by midnight!” Trevor said.

“And I promise I won’t wake you up if something happens. I can make it through the night this time,” Nat said. Lulia looked between them and her expression softened. 

“Alright. But don’t come crying to me if you’re too tired for school tomorrow, because you will be going. You’ll have to show those crushes of yours’ that you don’t need them,” Lulia said, giving them a wink. Trevor pumped his fist in the air, and Nat grinned.

“Thank you Ms. Fame!” She said. Lulia laughed warmly.

“Please just call me Lulia dear. It’s so odd to hear such a formal name from someone as small as you. No offense.” She quickly added the last part and Nat huffed. Both Trevor and Gillis giggled, but she shoved Trevor lightly on her way towards the door.

“C’mon, we have to ask my dad and get some stuff from my house,” She said, heading out the door. Trevor followed quickly behind.

“What are we gonna grab from your house?” Trevor asked. Nat hummed in though before listing things off on her fingers.

“Stuff for hair, my secret stash of good snacks, stuff to make friendship bracelets. Well, I mean, if you wanna. That goes for the hair stuff too. Only if you want to, I know it’s kinda girly,” She said the last part hastily, which made Trevor chuckle.

“Yeah, I’m a guy, but that doesn’t mean I left behind all my faminine stuff! I kept my hair long for a reason, I love when people mess with it and stuff,” He replied. She nodded and went back to her list.

“I’m gonna need some awesome clothes. Lulia was right when she said we have to show them up. Besides, feeling better can be made easier by looking good. It’s science,” She continued. Trevor nodded along, mentally going over his own closet for something confident he could wear. “Normal toiletries stuff, my retainer, that sort of thing.”

“How does a retainer even work with your fangs?” Trevor asked. Nat rolled her eyes.

“One, I barely have fangs at all. I’m only half vampire man. Two, they make them to mold to your mouth! They work with any kind of teeth, that’s the whole point of retainers!” She said, flailing her arms slightly. Trevor laughed.

“Don’t blame me for having perfect teeth!” He said. Nat narrowed her eyes. 

“Oh I am so braiding some weird stuff in your hair tonight,” She said, her voice full of venom. Trevor just laughed harder as they walked through the neighborhood. They passed the Bora residence, and Florian was sitting in the garden working on it. They waved at them, and they looked up from their gardening long enough to wave back. They seemed busy, so Trevor and Nat didn’t bother trying to start a conversation. A few more houses over and they were at the Varnia residence. “Dad? I’m home, but I’ve gotta ask you something.”

“Out here!” He called from backyard. Nat made her way through the house, Trevor following at a slower pace. Trencil still wasn’t entirely fond of him, but he put up with him for Nat’s sake. Still, Trevor knew that Trencil wasn’t fond of him, and felt awkward about it. Sure, technically Florian had been the one who had outed him to the Habitat, but it was his fault they did it in the first place. Eventually they made their way through the whole house to the garden in the backyard. 

If the Bora garden was the second best in the neighborhood, the Varnia garden was a very close third. Both parties involved insisted that the other garden was better, and most people couldn’t decide. The best garden in the neighborhood was at the very top of the hill, but neither of the teens liked to think about the person who owned it anymore than they had to. Nat stepped out into the backyard, but Trevor hung back by the door. She gestured for him to follow her and he sighed, but did just that. Trencil looked up from what he was working on to look the two of them up and down. “Hello my bloom. Trevor.” He nodded to them both. Nat huffed at the nickname and Trevor waved awkwardly at him. “What was the question you had?”

“I was gonna ask if I could spend the night at Trevor’s. We already got the okay from Lulia. We’ll be in bed by midnight and I’ll go to school and everything, I promise,” Nat said, rambling every so slightly. She was also fully aware that her dad wasn’t very fond of Trevor. Still, he was loosening up and being considerate about how close the two of them had gotten. He seemed to be mulling it over. An advantage to being half vampire was that she didn’t need as much sleep as the average person, so the promise to be in bed by midnight, while nice, probably wasn’t what he was worried about. He sighed quietly but smiled.

“Yes, that sounds alright. Just make sure you have everything you need before you go,” He said. Nat grinned and gave him a quick one arm hug before running back inside. Trevor stood there for a moment, wondering if he should say anything. “Wolf?” Trevor perked up and looked at Trencil, who was giving him an odd look between disapproval and jealousy. “You’ll take care of her if something happens in the night, won’t you?” 

“Yes!” Trevor said, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and Trencil chuckled. “I will, of course. I don’t like when she has nightmares.” Trencil nodded and smiled. 

“Go on, help her pick out whatever things she’s going to take,” He said. Trevor grinned and raced back into the house, both to help his friend and to get away from her weird dad. He headed up the stairs toward her room and knocked once before entering. She was digging through some of the drawers in her dresser.

“What’re you looking for?” He asked, kneeling down to be able to see in the drawer. 

“I know I stashed that old friendship making loom in here somewhere. It had a small plastic bag full of string and beads too. Y’know, those beads that have little letters on them and stuff? Those are the best,” She said. “Actually, can you look for it? I can pack up some clothes and stuff while you’re doing it.” He nodded and she grinned before hopping up and going to her closet. Trevor dug around for a while, pulling out random things she had stored in the drawers. Various toys from childhood that she’d never gotten rid of, a few haphazardly shoved in book, even some jewelry. It wasn’t organized, so he didn’t try to do so, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. Eventually he found what he was looking for, pretty close to the bottom of the second drawer he looked through. He turned around just as Nat came back into the room, presumably from getting her stuff from the bathroom. “Nice, let’s go!” 

They walked downstairs and Nat glanced towards the back of the house for a moment before running back there. Trevor stayed where he was, figuring that whatever she needed to say to Trencil was probably private. He milled by the door for a little while before she came back, blushing slightly. He just smiled at her and held the door open for her. They headed down the street towards his house again. Florian had gone back in their house since the sun was beginning to go down. Trevor noticed that Jerafina’s car was back when they made it back to his house. In fact, she was right there when they opened the door.

“Trevor! Lulia told me everything! You poor thing!” She said, latching onto him the moment she spotted him. He chuckled awkwardly and hugged back. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Just sorta...need some time with friends is all,” He replied. Nat smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up behind Jerafina’s back. Jerafina turned to Nat, and went to hug her too, but she dodged out of the way at the last moment.

“Um, thank you for letting me stay the night Jerafina,” Nat said, hoping that she wouldn’t be offended that she wasn’t interested in hugs. Jerafina just smiled warmly at her and nodded, which made Nat relax a little.

“Of course! Lulia told me it didn’t go well for you either. But honestly? Who needs romance when you’ve got great friends! You two remind me of myself and Parsley. Although he’s gone and gotten himself a date, the traitor,” She mused. 

“Rude,” Lulia said, coming into the room. “Dinner’s about ready, I made sure to make enough for you too Nat.”

“Thank you,” Nat said. “I’m gonna go put my stuff in Trevor’s room first, if that’s okay?” Lulia nodded, and the two teens went up to his room. “Your mom is a bit much dude.”

“Yeah, Jerafina can be a lot but so can I.” Trevor put down the stuff he was carrying on his bed while Nat put the backpack with her clothes on the floor. “It’s not...bad is it?”

“No way. I’m just more used to home being a chill place, y’know? So it’s weird to come here and there to be loud or excitable people,” She replied. Trevor chuckled.

“What, are you calling this place your home too?” He asked. Nat blushed again, and shoved him lightly.

“I certainly hang out here a lot,” She said. Trevor grinned and felt a warmth spread through his chest. 

“You’re always welcome dude, don’t forget that,” He said. Nat smiled at him.

“Come on, I wanna see what Lulia made for dinner. You’re always talking about what great cooks your moms are, it’s time to put that to the test.”

* * *

“Okay, I think it’s done,” Nat said, handing her pocket mirror to Trevor. He looked at the fishtail braid that she’d put into his hair and grinned. “What’d you think?”

“It looks great Nat! I wish I knew how to do this kind of stuff,” He replied.

“I can always teach you. I mean, we’ve gotta weave these friendship bracelet things, which is pretty much the same thing. You can just pull as hard as you want without your best friend whining about it,” She teased, sticking her tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out too.

“That was one time! And you yanked really hard!” He whisper shouted. It was coming up on eleven, and he wasn’t sure if anyone else in the house had gone to bed yet. Nat just stuck her tongue out farther and he rolled his eyes. “Whatever shorty.”

“Oh, you’re gonna get it,” She threatened, reaching for a pillow. He barely had time to grab one to defend himself before she was tackling him to whack him with her pillow. They both laughed as they wrestled and slapped each other with pillows. Trevor managed to shove Nat off of him and onto her back, so he could stand over her and hit her with his pillow repeatedly. “Uncle! I give, I give!” She yelled, laughing the whole time. The door to Trevor’s room opened and they both froze. Gillis was standing there, smiling exasperatedly.

“Can you guys keep it down? I’m trying to sleep,” He said. Trevor moved so Nat could stand up again.

“Sorry Gillis,” They said, still laughing slightly. He just rolled his eyes fondly.

“Oh, and Nat? A piece of advice? Go for the shins, he’s weak there,” He said. Nat grinned and nodded, but for some reason the words didn’t upset Trevor. They set his brain in motion. “Night guys.”

“Sleep well,” Nat said.

“Yeah…” Trevor added absentmindedly. Nat gave him a quizzical glance, but he didn’t snap out of it. She hoisted herself onto his bed, and pulled out the colors of string she wanted. He started pacing slightly, and she rolled her eyes. She set about braiding the string the way she wanted. She grabbed three beads and slipped them onto the thread before knotting it. She glanced at Trevor, who was still pacing. She stood up, got in front of him, and grabbed his hand to place the bracelet in his palm. He blinked a few times before looking down at it.

A bright green, yellow, and blue bracelet sat in his hand. The three beads on it were the letters Q and then two Ps. QPP. He looked up and Nat and grinned. She was already grinning back. No one really knew but the two of them used the term queerplatonic partner for each other. Their bond after the Habitat was really strong, and sure, they were best friends, but there was more there. And it definitely wasn’t romantic like Trevor used to think. No, that label didn’t work for them, but this one did. “Well shoot. Now I have to make you a matching one.”

“If you try and pull that ‘zucchini’ bull on me, I will throw it away,” Nat said. He laughed and came to sit on the bed beside her. “So, what was your brilliant theory?”

“It wasn’t so much a theory as it was a bit of word association. Something about Gillis and advice set my brain to turning,” He said. Nat passed him the loom and a bit of red, pink, and white thread. He took it and did his best to braid it in a way that wouldn’t come undone. He was just tying the knot when he jumped slightly. “That’s it!” Nat shushed him as he hopped off the bed. “Gosh, why didn’t I think of it! I should follow my own advice!”

“What advice? And what does this have to do with Gillis?” Nat asked, standing up too. 

“Gillis couldn’t get a date to prom, so I told him to go for himself, to just have fun. We can do the same! We don’t need dates! Or, well, we could be each other’s dates!” He said, all of it coming out in a rush. Nat shook her head slightly.

“I thought we didn’t want people to think we were dating,” She said. Trevor just shrugged.

“Who cares! As long as everyone who matters knows we’re not, it doesn’t matter!” He said. He rushed over to the bed, grabbed the bracelet he’d made, then got on one knee in front of Nat. “Nat Varnia, will you go to prom with me?” He asked, holding up the bracelet. Nat dissolved into giggles. Trevor grinned up at her. “C’mon man, don’t break my heart.”

“Of course I will you huge dork,” She said, still laughing. She took the bracelet from him and slipped it onto her wrist. Just then the door opened for a second time. 

“Kids, it’s almost midnight. You’d better get to sleep,” Lulia said, poking her head in the door. They nodded, and she smiled. “I’m glad to hear you two laughing, but if you’re going to stay up even with the lights out, please do keep it down.” She came into the room to hug Trevor, and he returned it easily. Nat smiled from the corner of the room, just watching the two of them. Trevor really did have a great family now. “Good night kids.”

“Well, party’s over I guess,” Trevor said as Lulia closed the door. “You ready for bed?”

“Y-yeah...um, I’ve gotta...I’ve gotta put in my retainers and…” Nat trailed off, looking nervously at the window. Trevor hummed in thought, glancing between the sleeping bag on the floor and his own bed.

“You’re small enough, we’ll both fit in my bed.” He decided. Nat shoved him slightly for the comment on her height, but she crawled into the bed beside him easily enough. She pressed herself against him tightly, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Goodnight shorty.”

“Night nerd.”

* * *

“I still have no idea what I’m wearing to prom,” Trevor said, picking at his new bracelet. It had been about a week since they had decided to go to prom with each other. They had already bought tickets and were just counting down the days until the event itself. They had both sworn to not look at Raph and Ranya or what they were doing for prom, but they had both been doing it anyways. Ranya had even come to Nat asking for advice on what dress to get, and Nat helped her decide on a suit that would be best. Trevor kept catching Raph staring at him, but they hadn’t spoken. 

“Dude, we’ve only got like...five days left. You’d better figure it out fast,” She said. “Did you have anything in mind?”

“Men’s fashion sucks but...I don’t wanna wear a dress. I mean, sometimes it’s okay, but I don’t wanna break down in the middle of prom, y’know?” He said, glancing around the lunch room. Nat nodded to herself, lost in thought for a moment. 

“Hey...how tall are you?”

“Five eight, why?” Nat smiled and Trevor suddenly had a cold sweat. “What are you planning?”

“Just come to my house after school,” She said. Trevor gulped.

But, when the time came, he followed her to her house. Trencil was in at the time, sitting in the living room. Nat grinned at him, and went to sit on the couch next to him. Trevor hung by the door. Trencil hadn’t even looked up from his book. She tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped. He turned to her and his surprised expression turned to a smile.

“Good afternoon my dear,” He said. She just grinned and pointed at Trevor.

“He has something he wants to ask you,” She said. Trevor flushed.

“Nat, I literally have no idea what you’re talking about,” He said. Trencil’s eyes narrowed as Nat made a dismissive noise.

“Oh, don’t be shy Trevor! I’m sure Dad would love to help you!” She said, batting her eyelashes at him.

“Nat, for real, I don’t know what you’re talking about and I don’t like it.” 

“Okay fine, be all shy about it, I’ll ask for you,” She said, turning back to Trencil. “Trevor doesn’t have anything to wear to prom, and I told him that you were the same height when you were our age, so he was wondering if you saved any clothes from then.” The three of them were in silence for a little while.

“What!!!” Both Trencil and Trevor yelled at the same time.

“I did not say that! I didn’t even know that! What the heck Nat?” Trevor spluttered. 

“Are you accusing my daughter of lying?” Trencil asked, his voice cold. Trevor let out a small squeak.

“N-no sir! I just...um…” Trevor glanced at Nat and found her grinning and flipping him off. “I’m...I’m sorry to mislead, but she’s right. I was wondering if you did have anything.” Nat gave him a smug smirk and he scowled at her. 

Trencil looked him up and down for a moment. Then circled around him. Trevor stood stock still, feeling a bit like he was being sized up for dinner. Which, he reminded himself, was actually a possibility. Then again, he reassured himself, Nat would never let that happen. Speaking of, Nat was still sitting on the couch, watching them closely. After a few moments, Trencil grabbed Trevor’s wrist. 

“Come with me,” He said, practically dragging Trevor up the stairs. As they went Trevor drew a line across his neck and pointed to Nat. She just blew him a kiss back. He scowled the whole way up the stairs, but gave Trencil a wobbly smile when they were standing in...what looked like a storage room. “You can drop the act, I’m fully aware that Nat fabricated the story.” Trevor sighed and slumped his shoulders. 

“Why’d you play along then?” He asked. Trencil sighed as well, although it sounded much more wistful.

“She obviously wanted me to help you find something for prom.” He said the word “prom” like it was foreign to him. As he was talking, he walked over to an ancient looking wardrobe and opened it. “And, she’s been saying for a while that I should attempt to…’loosen up’ around you. You are only a child after all.” Trevor opened his mouth to argue that he was a teenager now, but thought better of it and closed his mouth again. “I still don’t forgive you for what you did at the Habitat.”

“I never really apologized, huh?” Trevor said, rubbing his arm. Trencil turned to face him again, looking a little surprised. “I was trying to figure out the weirdness of the Habitat, and I was just so excited that I might’ve been right. Heck, I was excited in general! It’s not everyday you meet a vampire and can finally prove to the jerks at school that you’re not an idiot!” Trencil just stared at him for a moment, and Trevor blushed before clearing his throat and continuing. “But announcing it to the Habitat, even if it was through Florian, wasn’t okay. And I’m really sorry about it. I get why you don’t like me, but I’m really glad you put up with me cuz I really do like hanging out with Nat,” He finished. Trencil smiled slightly and turned back to the wardrobe. 

“Apology accepted. Now, come try this on, I have a feeling you’ll like it,” Trencil said, pulling a coat out of the wardrobe. Trevor gasped and carefully took it from him. It was a crimson red, with gold detailing and large folds at the end of the sleeves that sort of formed a puff. It was obviously very old, although kept in very good condition. Trevor carefully pulled it on over what he was already wearing. It fit a little large, stopping at about his knees. The fabric was rough, but worn enough that it was still comfortable. “I’m afraid that movies have glorified the pirate and privateer outfit a bit, but it is still an interesting look. I’m not sure how interested you would be in the rest, but I’m sure it would look sharp with a button down and some nice slacks.”

“You were a pirate?” Trevor asked, astounded. Trencil gave him a wry smile.

“A privateer, but really there wasn’t much difference besides who was paying you. And, really, the fiction has glorified it beyond belief. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience.” Trencil shuddered as he spoke and Trevor decided to drop it. For now.

* * *

“It’s tonight! Are you ready?” Trevor asked, waving his arms excitedly. Nat was grinning as well as they made their way out of the school for the bus.

“I’m excited, that’s for sure. Are we still doing dinner before?” She asked. Trevor nodded and climbed up into the bus. Nat followed him and sat next to him. “What are we gonna do if we run into Ranya and Raph?” She asked, sounding nervous.. Trevor sobered up a bit.

“Flaunt how great we look. Cuz we are gonna look amazing!” He said, regaining his confidence. Nat smiled and leaned against him slightly. “You tired?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep last night. Too excited,” She said. Trevor wrapped an arm around her and rested his head on top of hers. They sat like that for a while before their stop came up. They split ways to their own houses and Trevor took off in a run. He heard Gillis laugh behind him, before he, too, was racing towards the house. It wasn’t much of a competition, Gillis being much faster than Trevor. Still, Trevor didn’t let losing get him down. He was too excited for anything to make him sad at this point. 

Lulia was already home, and she seemed just as happy as Trevor felt. He guessed that it wasn’t every day that your kids go to prom. He ran past her and straight up to his room. It was another hour before he and Nat were going to meet for dinner, but he was too excited to wait to get ready. Besides, he had wanted to go over early and ask Nat about maybe doing some makeup on him. He felt an odd sense of pride as he pulled on Trencil’s old jacket, and looked at himself in the mirror. He felt amazing. 

He grinned and spun around once, just looking at himself. He hadn’t felt this good about his body in a very long time. The binder Kamal had helped him make had been a big help, but he found that he couldn’t wear it every day. But, despite it sitting on a shelf in his closet, he felt amazing. It was more of a confidence in his overall self than anything else, but it was certainly a gender thing as well. He grabbed a pillow from his bed to scream into it, feeling an overwhelming joy that needed to be expressed somehow. When he was down, he opened his door and ran downstairs. He almost ran into Lulia, but managed to slam into the wall and not her.

“Oh goodness! Are you alright dear?” She asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Yes! Everything is amazing! More than amazing!” He yelled. She grinned down at him, and leaned over to kiss his cheek. He huffed and crossed his arms, but didn’t say anything, because really, he didn’t mind. 

“You’re going out for dinner with Nat, right dear?” She asked, stepping through the stairwell to the kitchen. Gillis was sitting at the kitchen table, looking a bit pensive. 

“Yeah! I’ve been saving up for it!” He said. He waved at Gillis, who looked up and waved back, smiling slightly. Lulia turned to look at him, an odd expression on her face. “What?”

“Trevor, I’ll give you money to go get dinner. You don’t have to pay for food, that’s Jerafina and I’s job,” She said, leaning against the kitchen counter. Trevor stared at her for a moment, before stepping forward to hug her. 

“Thank you,” He muttered, gripping her tightly.

“Of course dear. Now, did you want help with makeup? I overheard you asking Nat about it, but I think I have some that will match your outfit quite well,” She said as Trevor pulled away. He grinned at her again and nodded. She smiled back, before turning to Gillis. “What about you dear?” She asked. He jumped slightly, before glancing around a little. 

“Um...yeah. That’d be...I’d like that,” He said, stumbling over his words. Lulia made her way towards the stairs, and the two boys followed after her. She went into the bathroom, and grabbed a makeup bag from one of the higher shelves. Gillis and Trevor glanced at each other awkwardly, both of them a little uneasy. Neither of them had really worn makeup before, and there was already a sort of awkward relationship with femininity in both of them.

“Would you two stop looking at each other like the world is going to implode?” Lulia said, chuckling slightly. “It’s just some makeup. You don’t have to if you don’t want.” They glanced at each other again, and Trevor stepped forward slightly. 

“It’s easy to take off, right?” He asked. Lulia smiled and nodded. “Okay, then I wanna try it,” He grinned at Lulia and Gillis smiled too. 

“This’ll be easier in a less cramped room,” She said, walking into Gillis’ room. The boys followed, and found that she had sat down on the bed. “Pull up your chair Gillis, you should go first.” Gillis nodded meekly, and pulled up the desk chair he had in the corner.

Trevor watched curiously as Lulia pulled out a black tube, and pulled the lid off of it. He had seen makeup enough times to know that it was eyeliner, and apparently so had Gillis because he closed his eyes. Lulia began to carefully apply it to the edge of his eyelid. Gillis made an odd noise and squirmed slightly, and Lulia smiled. “I know it’s a little weird the first time, but I promise I’m not going to get any in your eye. I’d never do that,” Lulia said, stopping for a moment to take his hand. 

“I know it’s just...it’s weird,” Gillis replied. 

“What’s it like?” Trevor asked, leaning against the bed slightly.

“Kinda like you’re being poked in the eye, but not in a way that hurts?” Gillis replied. Trevor nodded.

“It’s always worse when someone else is doing it, but you don’t have too long and I can teach you another day,” Lulia said. She shifted to the other eye and Gillis held still again while Trevor watched. After a moment she pulled away. “Alright, just give it a moment to dry and then you can open your eyes and look at it!” She said.

“Why’d you put some next to his eye?” Trevor asked.

“They’re called wings, they sort of frame the eye and make it pop more,” Lulia said. “You should be fine now dear, go ahead and open your eyes.” Gillis did and both Trevor and Lulia grinned. “You look stunning!”

“Yeah, you look awesome!” Trevor added. Gillis walked to the bathroom to look in a mirror. Lulia and Trevor heard a small gasp and they grinned at each other. Gillis rushed back into the room and hugged Lulia tightly.

“Oh! You’re welcome dear,” She said, wrapping her arms around his torso. Trevor gave Gillis a thumbs up, which he returned easily. “Try not to cry dear, you’ll smudge it.” Gillis huffed and pulled away.

“I am not crying. Crying over makeup that’s so...lame…” Gillis said, sitting on the bed next to Lulia. Trevor giggled, and took his seat in the desk chair. “Trevor’s turn, I wanna see him in eyeliner.”

“Would you would want some eyeshadow as well Trevor?” Lulia asked. Trevor grinned.

“Yeah!”

“What, I don’t get the offer?” Gillis joked right before Trevor closed his eyes. 

“I think minimal makeup brings out your inner beauty,” Lulia said. “Not that you don’t have any Trevor, but I figured you might like a little something extra.” Trevor giggled and tried to hold still, but a soft brush was running over his eyelids, and it tickled. “Eyeshadow, then eyeliner. Remember that boys, it’ll serve you well.”

“Yes ma’am!” They both joked at the same time, and all three of them laughed. They sat in silence for another few minutes, before Lulia pulled away from Trevor.

“You can open your eyes now dear, go take a look,” She said, and Trevor was off like a bolt for the bathroom. He got his face very close to the mirror, trying to look at his eyelids without fully closing his eyes. Lulia had put a sparkly golden eyeshadow on him, and a thin line of eyeliner, with small wings off to the sides. He grinned and rushed back to Gillis’ room to give Lulia a tight hug. She laughed and hugged him back as well. “You’re welcome dear. I’m glad I can make you this happy with something as simple as makeup.”

“I’ve gotta show Nat! Wait, what time is it?” Trevor asked. They looked at Gillis, who just shrugged. “Why don’t I wear a watch?” Trevor lamented for a moment, which made Lulia giggle. He raced to his room and checked his clock. 4:08. “Shoot! I’m late!” He went for the stairs, but Lulia caught his elbow. She handed him a carefully folder few bills and he smiled at her. “Thanks mom,” He said, hugging her tightly. She hugged back and kissed the top of his head. 

“Have fun dear. And don’t forget to get prom pictures, I’m sure Jerafina will want to see you before you get everything all messed up during the prom itself,” She said, before letting him go. He gave her a thumbs up and raced down the stairs.

He ran down the street, although he did stop when he noticed the moving truck outside one house, but a moment later Tiff came out of it. She smiled and waved at him and he waved back. Tim Tam ran out of the truck a moment later, holding something above their head. Tiff sighed, but smiled, and began to chase after them. Trevor chuckled, and began to run down the street again. He passed by the Bora residence, and both Kamal and Florian were sitting on the porch. It looked like they were having a serious conversation, and neither of them really acknowledged him, so he just kept running. He made it to Nat’s house, but almost ran into Trencil, who was just coming in the door.

“Oh! Hello Trevor. You’re here early,” He commented. Trevor cocked his head to the side questioningly. 

“Actually, I’m late. Nat and I were going to meet at four to go get dinner beforehand, remember?” He said. Trencil looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling. 

“She had decided to cancel those plans, although it must have slipped her mind when it came time to tell you. I’m sure she won’t mind that you’re early though,” He said cryptically. 

“Um...okay?” Trevor said. Trencil opened the door and gestured for Trevor to go in. 

“Nat! Trevor is here!” Trencil called up the stairs. “You forgot to tell him that you weren’t going to dinner.” He chuckled.

“Shoot! Sorry Trevor! I’ll be down as soon as I can!” She called down the stairs. Trevor chuckled and took a seat on the couch. Trencil sat in a chair opposite him, and Trevor suddenly felt a bit nervous.

“I suppose now would be the time that’d I’d give you an intimidating speech about having her home by a certain time, yes?” Trencil said, although it sounded like he was joking. Trevor laughed, maybe a little too loudly. Trencil didn’t seem to mind. “I think I can skip that speech, you’re already fairly intimidated by me.” Trencil grinned, and Trevor could’ve sworn that his fangs glinted. A shiver went up his spine and he smiled nervously. “I jest, don’t worry!” Trencil said, smiling more genuinely now. He took a deep breath.

“You know, if I really had a problem with this, I would’ve stepped in a long time ago. I will admit, I wasn’t pleased at first, but you...you’re special Trevor. Nat seems so much happier since she started being around you. She was always so caught up in seeming ‘cool’ before, and she would even get stressed about what her old friends would think of her. But with you, she just seems so relaxed and content. And you seem to be the same way around her. You’ve mellowed, but still keep your own boyish...I’d say charm, but I don’t quite find it charming. You two are good for each other. I know you’ll do right by each other tonight, and for the rest of your lives.” Trevor could tell he was blushing up a storm, and he tried to speak, but only a squeak came out. Trencil chuckled. “You don’t have to say anything, I think we understand each other.” Trevor nodded and buttoned his lip.

“Dad, you’d better not be giving him some horrible anti-pep talk!” Nat called down the stairs. They both laughed at that. “Okay, I’m coming down!” Trevor hopped up, hoping to see Nat as soon as possible. He saw her standing at the top of the stairs and his jaw dropped. “I’m assuming you like it?”

“You look amazing!” He yelled. Nat giggled and came down the stairs. “You got your haircut? I love it!” Sure enough, Nat’s hair was several inches shorter, having gone from her shoulder blades to a shaggy looking pixie cut. She was wearing a black sleeveless dress that went to her knees and had a white tool material in ruffles at the bottom, with some white accents around the neckline. “You seriously look great Nat, I don’t even know what to say!” She grinned at him and he stepped aside slightly.

“Oh Batalie, you really do look wonderful…” Trencil said, sounding a little teary. 

“C’mon Dad...not the full name…” She whined. Trevor stifled some laughter behind his hand, and she shot him a glare. “Were you gunna take pictures? And either way, can you take some on my phone?” Trevor froze up a bit, but Nat gave him a reassuring smile.

“You’ll have to show me how, but I’d be happy to,” Trencil said. Trevor prepared himself for a long while of posing for awkward pictures.

* * *

“She’s just standing there, you could totally go talk to her!” Trevor said, nudging Nat slightly.

Taking pictures with Trencil actually hadn’t been as bad as Trevor thought it would be. It took about fifteen minutes, but most of that was him and Nat trying to explain to Trencil how a cell phone worked. They had decided to walk to prom, and Nat had said multiple times that she was happy to have gone with wearing flats instead of heels. Getting in was simple really, show them your ticket, walk on in. They were early enough that there were still plenty of snacks out, so they didn’t have to worry about missing dinner. They had grabbed a table near the door since they were lining the walls of the venue. The highschool had rented out a location for prom since it’d be hard to fit all the students anywhere in the school. Not a lot of people were there yet, but Ranya and Raph were. And they seemed to be avoiding each other.

“I’ll even go with you if you want! You never did ask her, maybe she wanted to go with you instead of Raph but was too scared!” Trevor encouraged, gesturing vaguely in Ranya’s direction. Nat glanced over at her, but turned back around quickly. 

“I’m not a home wrecker Trevor. Even if we haven’t seen them talking yet doesn’t mean they aren’t having a good time with each other. Let’s just leave them alone,” She said. Trevor sighed, but nodded. 

“Yeah...you’re right. You can’t blame me for being excited though,” He said. Nat smiled and reached over to pat his hand. “You wanna dance?” 

“I’m no good at it…” Nat said, glancing at the dance floor. That’s where most of the kids that were there so far were, a mess of them all dancing to some random pop song. 

“No one here is good at it, it’s just for fun,” Trevor said, standing up and offering a hand to Nat. She chuckled and took it, letting him drag her to the dance floor. Trevor glanced behind them, and saw Ranya staring at them almost...longingly. Raph came up behind her, and Trevor quickly looked away.

They were going to have fun, no matter what. 

They stood awkwardly on the edge of the mass of people, just sort of nodding along to the rhythm. After a few moments Trevor began to bounce slightly, then got his hips into it and stepped back and forth. He laughed and dropped any amount of dignity he had to just move to the music. Nat laughed at him, but stopped moving. He grabbed her hands and began to move in a circle, making her dance too. 

“I bet we look ridiculous!” Nat yelled over the music, and Trevor threw his head back in laughter. 

“Who cares!’ Trevor yelled back. He let go of her hands, and this time she kept dancing on her own. He grinned and let himself get lost in the music.

As the night went on, they would scream lyrics to songs they knew, dance as much as they could, and take small breaks to grab more food, or just rest their feet. Trevor caught glances of Raph and Ranya several times, but they seemed to have gotten over whatever had been going on at the beginning of the night. They were dancing and having fun too, and it made Trevor smile, although it was in a sad way. Still, he didn’t look at them long before Nat dragged away his attention, and he was having fun again. They were sitting at the table, laughing over some stupid joke when Gillis came over to them.

“Hey little man, hey Nat!” He said, grinning up a storm. “Trevor, I gotta thank you man. This has been a really fun night, and I never would’ve come out if you hadn’t given me that advice.” Trevor grinned up at Gillis who was grinning right back. “I’m gonna head to the McDonalds down the street in awhile if you guys wanna come. It’s getting kinda late,” He said. Nat and Trevor glanced at each other and both grinned.

“We’ll catch up with you in a bit, we’ve still got some dancing to do,” Trevor said. Gillis gave them both a thumbs up. “I’m really glad you came bro.” Gilis blushed slightly, but grinned before heading back into the crowd. 

“See you later!” Nat called. The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the music that was blaring through the whole room. “Raph keeps staring at you,” Nat said, nodding subtly to their right. Trevor sighed and didn’t look. “Oh c’mon, he and Ranya probably came as friends, just like us. I’m sure it wouldn’t be a big deal if you asked him to dance. Even if they are together, the two of you could dance as friends!”

“Nat, he and I have talked maybe twice, and it was about trivial stuff. He’d be able to see through the friends excuse. Besides, you wouldn’t even go talk to Ranya, there’s no way I’m gonna ask him to dance,” Trevor said, leaning against the table they were sitting at. Nat nodded absently and looked back at the dance floor. People were beginning to move away from it in droves as a new song came on. A slow song. She turned to look at Trevor, and he caught her eye just as she grinned. “No. No way. I can’t dance, c’mon you know that Nat.” She stood up as he was speaking and grabbed his hands to drag him to the dance floor. “If I step on your feet there’s about a fifty percent chance that it’s on purpose.” She laughed as they made their way to the dance floor.

“I can live with that,” She said. She took one of Trevor’s hands and put it on her waist. “Wait...should I lead?” She asked. Trevor shrugged. 

“I think most people just kinda...sway awkwardly to slow dances,” He said. Nat glanced around and, sure enough, all the couples on the floor were just holding onto each other and swaying.

“We’re better than that,” She said with confidence, and Trevor chuckled. “I’ll lead since you’re hopeless at dancing.” She moved Trevor’s hand from her waist to her shoulder and put one of her’s on his waist. She began a simple box step, and Trevor did his best to keep up.

It didn’t work well at all. Nat wasn’t used to leading, since she was always following when her dad had taught her, and Trevor wasn’t used to dancing at all. Nat would accidentally step forward while Trevor was doing the same, or one of them would step with the wrong foot, and they’d end up stepping on each others feet. Couples around them stared at them because they were laughing the whole time they were dancing. One girl even shushed them, and they managed to contain their laughter into giggles, but they couldn’t stop it. In their opinion, their version of a slow dance was much better than what the others were doing.

* * *

“Really? A happy meal?” Nat asked as they sat in one of the plastic booths at the McDonalds.

They had left prom after their slow dance, deciding to end the evening on a high night. Except, they were both hungry, and Trevor still had money from when they were going to go to dinner. And they were hoping to catch up with Gillis, so they headed to the nearby McDonalds. Gillis was there, but he was sitting with a small group of people, and all of them were talking animatedly. Both of them were tired and slightly overwhelmed, so they decided to sit by themselves to avoid the loud conversation. 

“What? The toys are cool!” Trevor said, grinning at Nat. She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. The main door behind Trevor opened, and Nat froze up a bit. He turned to look, and was met face to face with Raph and Ranya, who were definitely coming towards them. “Oh shoot,” He said, turning back around. Still the other two teens stopped in front of their table. They shared a quick look before Ranya held her hand out to Nat.

“Nat, can I talk to you? In private?” Ranya asked. Nat blushed, and glanced at Trevor. Trevor nodded, and Nat took her hand. Ranya lead her over towards the back by the kids’ play area. Raph glanced at them, then back at Trevor.

“Can...can I sit with you? Just ‘til they get back…” He asked. Trevor nodded, and scooted over so Raph could sit next to him. They sat in silence for a few seconds, before Raph took a deep breath and turned to face Trevor. “I really liked your note.”

“Raph, you don’t have to-”

“No! I did! I liked it a lot! And...and…” Trevor watched Raph’s face carefully as he turned bright red and took a few deep breaths. “And I like you too. I would’ve loved to go to prom with you. I asked Ranya to go cuz we were both too scared to ask who we liked out. Which was...you and Nat. Ranya wanted to talk to Nat at prom, but you guys were having so much fun that she didn’t wanna interrupt, and I was too scared to say anything and-” Raph stopped talking and let out a small squeak, because Trevor had leaned down and given him a kiss on the cheek. Trevor was blushing too, but he was grinning.

“I’m sorry I chased you off during lunch. If I had known you were gonna really ask me out I never would’ve,” He said. Raph out his face in his hands and Trevor laughed. “We can go to the next school dance together! And uh...maybe go somewhere on the weekends before then too? Only if you want.” Raph pulled his head out of his hands to smile at Trevor.

“I’d love that,” He said. Nat and Ranya came back into their view, and Trevor was glad to take note of the fact that they were holding hands, and both blushing. 

“C’mon Raph, lets go get our food,” Ranya said. She glanced between him and Trevor, before smiling widely. “We can all sit together, if you guys want.”

“Yeah!” Nat and Trevor said at once. 

“Cool!” Raph and Ranya said at once. They all laughed before Raph and Ranya went up to the counter to order. Nat sat down across from Trevor and grinned at him. He grinned back.

Their first prom was definitely a success.


End file.
